Archives for April 17, 2006

'According to Sabres' spokesman Michael Gilbert, at least for the first round, the vast majority of the games locally will be seen on the Madison Square Garden Network, which carried most of the regular season games this year. The only wildcard may be this weekend's game.'

‘”I’m very satisfied,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “You can look at the last couple weeks. We’ve been a solid team again. I like the way we’re playing defensively. We’re playing a stingier game. And offensively we’ve been good and our special teams have been good.”‘

‘You would think the Sabres would want to stay away from Sahara-hot New Jersey, which has won 10 straight games down the stretch. Buffalo matches up better with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, posting a 5-1-2 record combined against the two teams. Right now, the Devils are the most dangerous among the three, the team nobody wants to face. But, really, the Sabres’ first-round opponent doesn’t matter if they perform the way they did against Toronto.’

'He missed seven games from March 16-29. Buffalo lost six of those games, all of them occurring in a season-high losing skid. He has five goals and 11 points in the 10 games since his return. Buffalo has won four straight and seven of 10.'

‘”Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t thank me for saving the Sabres,” Golisano says. “I thought I knew what the Sabres meant to this community, but I’ve been overwhelmed by seeing what they really mean to this community.”‘

‘With victories in four straight games and six of their last seven heading into the season finale in Carolina Tuesday, the Sabres are playing some of their best hockey which is saying quite a bit given their 51-24-6 record.’

‘Darcy Tucker, one of the league’s best pests, did exactly what he’s supposed to do – keeping the focus off the Leafs’ play and squarely on his antics. It’s something a number of Sabres – like Derek Roy, Daniel Briere and Maxim Afinogenov – should take note of.’